American bulldog caused injury while out of control on St Bees beach

At one point, 48-year-old Jonathan Foxcroft’s American bulldog Boss had hold of the second dog – a cavapoo – in its mouth and was shaking it, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Foxcroft himself was also bitten as he tried to gain control of his dog.

The incident was witnessed by a couple and their daughter. At a later court hearing, Foxcroft, of Bay View, St Bees, pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog that injured a person while it was dangerously out of control.

Prosecutor Beth Pilling outlined the facts.

The barrister said the woman who was walking her cavapoo dog, called Aoife, on September 14 last year, recalled seeing the defendant walking with his two-year-old American bulldog.

She was throwing a ball for her dog when the bulldog and another dog, a Staffordshire bull terrier, approached her pet, 'sniffing it and crowding it.'

She tried to push those dogs away, but they came back and knocked her to the ground, though she managed to get back to her feet.

“She saw Boss had hold of Aoife in its mouth," continued the barrister.

“Boss was shaking Aoife in his mouth, and she immediately tried to remove her dog from Boss’s mouth.

"She described how the defendant came over and shouted at his dog and tried to assist.”

The defendant swore when Boss bit down on his thumb. He tried to regain control of the dog, kicking and jumping on it as he tried to stop Boss. At some stage, Aoife broke free and the woman 'scooped up' her dog.

St Bees (Image: Cumbria Police)

“The defendant’s dog launched itself at her and she turned her back and curled up in a ball on the floor to protect both her and her dog. The defendant eventually managed to loop a lead around Boss’s neck.

Aoife's owner was able to leave with her dog, walking away towards the local lifeboat station. The woman’s dog needed surgery to repair a dislocated hip while the woman suffered puncture wounds to her hands and bruising and an injury to her chin, possibly caused when she fell onto rocks.

Anthony Parkinson, defending, told the court: “Whilst this was deeply unpleasant for the victim and the victim’s dog, this whole incident is as near to an accident as one can get.

"He didn’t perceive that this incident was going to occur.

“But he accepts in hindsight that he could have taken more care in the sense that if he had had his dog on a lead at the time this incident would never have taken place.

"It’s for this reason that he’s entered his guilty plea.”

Mr Parkinson said Foxcroft was an experienced dog owner. Before the incident, there had been no indication that Boss had it within him to be so aggressive.

The barrister added: “At the time, he did everything he could to stop it, including putting himself in harm’s way.”

Foxcroft had also done his best to apologise to the woman, but this was not accepted.

The court heard that an expert had concluded that the defendant’s dog did not represent a risk to public safety, though he recommended a number of conditions, including that Boss should be muzzled and, on a lead, when in public.

He added that the defendant had learned a lesson and tried to apologise. Judge Ian Unsworth KC adjourned sentencing so that he can make a more detailed assessment of the issues in the case.

The defendant will be before the court for sentence next week.